Warframe: Tenno Generations
by MikaelSix
Summary: The Tenno continue to battle and protect the Origin System, keeping a careful watch over entire planets. With their brothers and sisters scattered across the System, the fight goes on against Grineer, Corpus, Infested and Sentients. But as factions begin to form within the Tenno, the survivors of the Void start facing their greatest threat yet… themselves.
1. S1C1: A Team of Two

_Warframe: Tenno Generations _is meant to be a fanfiction series of Operator-only adventures. For more clarity, Tenno will be given the names and powers of their Warframes. For example, "Ash" will design a male human Operator. All Operators will have the gender of their Warframe, **save Excalibur, who is portrayed here as a female.**

Synopsis:

After the quest events depicted in Warframe, the Tenno continue to battle and protect the Origin System. Foremost among them, the feisty Excalibur, the invincible Atlas, the noble Zephyr and the flaming Ember keep a careful watch over entire planets. With their brothers and sisters scattered across the System, the fight goes on against Grineer, Corpus, Infested and Sentients. But as factions begin to form within the Tenno, the survivors of the Void start facing their greatest threat yet… themselves.

* * *

_**Season 1: Rogue Factor**_

_**Chapter 1: **__**A Team of Two**_

_Location: Undisclosed_

As Khora gasped, her suit stained with blood and sweat, her unhurt opponent smirked at her. "Is that all you can do?" Bristling with rage, Khora summoned the last of her energy. "_Blasting Whip!" _She screamed, as her whip destroyed everything around her, except her enemy, who dodged her attack effortlessly, as he had during the whole fight. But this time she wouldn't attack blindly; she had a plan.

As her opponent, seeing her exhaustion, finally dashed towards her for the killing blow, Khora activated her last, ultimate move. "_Strangledome!" _Powerful chains sprung out in a bubble around her, tearing to shreds everything close to her.

When the dust settled, Khora stared at her chain dome, breathing heavily, looking for her opponent's body, before realizing… _it wasn't there._

It happened in two seconds.

_She heard the crack at her feet._

_The earth below her split apart._

_Something flashed before her eyes._

_Pain tore through her chest._

Khora fell with a sigh, her body torn in two, dead before she hit the floor. Her enemy rose, staring at her.

"You are… the first." the figure said, as it turned, and left the corpse among the ruins.

* * *

_Location: Corpus Ship, orbiting Pluto_

"_Firewalk!" _Nezha shouted, as he sprinted towards the Corpus soldiers. Slashing at crewmen and MOAs alike, with fire spurting out of his dash, the battle was quickly over as only charred husks remained. Nezha stood triumphant, and surveyed the area for more units.

"Come in, Nova. How's it going?" Nezha said in his transmitter. "Data 2 out of 3 extracted. Heading to the last point. Are you having fun?", the space-mastering Tenno answered. "You could say that. I'm headed towards extraction… unless you need my help getting there?" Nezha smirked. "Very funny, kid." "You're not much older than me, Nova-" The wall next to Nezha exploded, throwing him backwards hard. As he gasped, a smouldering figure came out of the gaping hole left by the blast.

As Nezha got up and tensed, ready for a fight, a voice stopped him in his tracks. "Hello there." Nezha stared.

"Are you…" Before he could finish his sentence, a palm strike hit him in the chest, blasting him against the wall. Breathing heavily, Nezha stood, and activated his Warding Halo. "What are you doing here… Volt?!"

Electricity sparking all around him, Volt smirked in a triumphant pose. "I've come here in search of prey. You and your... partner will do nicely."

"Prey? Don't make me laugh. What's gotten into you?" Nezha said.

"Are you going to fight? Or die talking?" As Volt said those words, his eyes glowed. Seeing this, Nezha jumped forward, and blocked Volt's sudden palm attack with his fist. "I don't know what you want…" Nezha said angrily, after a flurry of blows, "but I'll stop you right here! _Firewalk!"_

Dashing around him at max speed, Nezha created a wall of fire around Volt. "Let's see you get out of this!" A flash jumped out of the circle, towards the ceiling, before bursting in Nezha's back. A strike from Volt sent Nezha sprawling, but the latter's Warding Halo protected him from damage. Nezha stood and threw a flurry of punches at Volt, only to be smashed against the wall by a kick.

"You're strong, Nezha… But far too slow." Angry, Nezha answered, "Let's see how you like this! _Blazing Chakram!" _Nezha threw his chakram, engulfed in fire, towards Volt. "_Charge…" _Volt whispered. The chakram rebounded across the room at great speed, yet Volt was dodging so fast he couldn't be seen. Nezha stood, paralyzed, before Volt kicked his chakram into a wall, before breaking his Warding Halo with a single punch. Crashing into the wall and into another room, Nezha gasped as he coughed up blood.

"You can't win. Time to end this." Volt said. "_Oh, I'll end this… with my final attack!_" Nezha thought, as Volt begun to move. "_Divine Spears!_"

Energy spears spawned out of the floor, piercing everything in the room.

But they were just too slow. As the spears were done spawning, the two fighters had already crashed into another room in a single attack. Volt was on top of Nezha.

With his hand piercing Nezha's heart.

Nezha coughed, and closed his eyes. Volt removed his hand from his corpse with a slash, and stood silent for a moment.

But as Volt turned, he saw Nova. Staring through the broken walls in shock, at him and the corpse of her partner. Before he could work out what to say, Nova activated her Wormhole, and was gone. He dashed to where she had stood in a blink, but to no avail. Volt stood for a moment, then left in silence, leaving a broken ship and a broken body behind.


	2. S1C2: Hunter and Prey

_**Chapter 2: ****Hunter and Prey**_

_Location: Plains of Eidolon, Earth_

She flew through the sky, free and calm. Towards the clouds, and down to the ground, then up again. She loved this feeling. This was her land. Her kingdom, and she flew over it, watching over it like a majestic queen.

When she heard gunfire, Zephyr's eyes narrowed in anger. The Plains were her realm. And she would purge the scourge that grew on her.

She plummeted down, her blades slashing at the Grineer stationed near the lake. Zephyr whirled, slashing and deflecting bullets, until a stronger blast echoed behind her. She jumped high in the air, avoiding a toxic ball. A Nox. Zephyr dashed towards him, slashing his poison blasts then striking his armor, drops of green blood trickling out. Roaring, the Nox struck her back, then fired at him again. Zephyr vanished in a blink, then reappeared on top of the Nox, piercing his helmet and head.

Her enemy's corpse fell, and Zephyr ran to disable the console, hacking the tower to disable communications. When done, Zephyr stared at the ruined base, then looked at the rising sun. She sighed, wondering if her fight would ever be over.

"Zephyr, are you all right?", she was asked as she returned to the top of the Orokin Tower. "You don't have to worry every time I go out, Nyx. I can handle myself. And you should too." Zephyr said in a stern voice as she removed her Orokin armor.

The short, bookish Tenno laughed nervously. "Well, I try. You should come visit the library more often. I learn new things every day! History, science… it's all there for us!" "I don't have time to chat with you about books today." Zephyr replied. "We're going to have visitors. Excal, Ember and Atlas are coming for the monthly reunion of our group."

"Great!" Nyx smiled. "Maybe they'll be more inclined to chat."

Zephyr sighed as she left to go to her room. "Or maybe they'll be serious…"

* * *

The Orbiters landed on the outskirts of Cetus. Zephyr stood nobly as always, staring intensely at the opening hatches, revealing the three Tenno she knew most.

"Welcome, friends.", she said calmly.

"Serious as ever, Zephie. Glad to see you." Excal smiled and shook her hand, knowing Zephyr did not care for hugs, sadly.

"Yeah, you need to loosen up, girl !" Ember laughed, causing Zephyr to sigh.

She glanced at Atlas, who simply nodded at her. Here was a monster, almost all-powerful… And yet he was even calmer than her. Zephyr allowed herself a moment of silence, then led the group towards the Tower. "Let's go."

The Pentagon, united, sat around the table. Excal, Ember, Atlas, Zephyr and Nyx. The guardians of Cetus, the only ones who used the city as their base.

"Alright, let's start this monthly meeting." Nyx smiled and stood up. Despite her being very chatty, Zephyr did not doubt her intelligence and clear-headedness.

"First item, the Corpus. They've been quiet for some time, so I believe we can dismiss them for this month. Between Valkyr on Venus, and Nova and Nezha on Pluto, I believe they won't bother us much."

"Still no location on Alad V?" Excal asked. "I still don't like having him running around the system."

"We haven't been able to pinpoint him, sorry. But I wouldn't worry too much." Nyx answered.

"Second item, the Infestation. No noticeable outbreaks. Equinox is still orbiting Eris. I think we can remain on green status." The group nodded their assent.

"Last item, the Grineer. We've been noticing spikes of activity in Uranus. It's possible Tyl Regor has launched a massive streak of clone production in his labs."

"In that case we have to go!" Excal exclaimed.

"Not for me. I hate Uranus. All that water…" Ember shuddered.

"I'll go." Excal stood. "Atlas can accompany me. You can stay here with Zephyr and Nyx, Ember." Atlas nodded. "Ok."

"Thanks, you're a dear, Excal!" Ember smiled.

"We'll depart in the evening. We can tour Cetus in the meantime."

* * *

At night, the group stood at the entrance of the Cetus tower, bidding Excal and Atlas goodbye.

"Kick his ass for us, Excal!" Ember shouted.

Nyx stared wistfully as the two Tenno entered their Orbiters and departed.

"Don't look so sad, Nyx, they'll be back before we know it." Ember put her arm around her.

"I know…" Nyx protested. But she did not dare share her true thought. "_I wonder… Will we ever stop fighting? Will we have to live like this forever…"_


	3. S1C3: Fire and Water

_**Chapter 3: **__**Fire and Water**_

_Location: Underwater Grineer Lab, Uranus_

The two Archwings dived deep under the surface, heading for an access hatch to the laboratory of the Titania region. They surfaced inside the Grineer complex.

"All right." Excal said. "Ordis, you're up. Pinpoint him."

"Sure thing, Operator." Ordis piped up in her earpiece. "I should warn you, he's not alone. I'm picking up quite a few other signals… At least a dozen!"

"Manics, probably." Excal sighed.

"I'll take care of them." Atlas said. "You go for Regor."

Tyl Regor sat in his lab chair, surrounded by the pumping machinery. His mace and shield lay beside him as he studied his experiments' genetics. On the floor below him, Manics checked the equipment and surveilled the area.

A blast suddenly echoed in the distance. The Manics stopped their work and looked around, as alarms were heard.

"Keep working." Regor growled.

The Manics hesitated a second, then continued to assure the stability of the cloning machinery. Regor smiled, listening to the sounds of battle closing in, then stood up and grasped his equipement.

* * *

"Stand back."

Atlas said as he punched cleanly through the access hatch, sending it flying and revealing Regor's room. The Manics put down their equipment and started growling. Regor himself was nowhere to be seen.

Atlas dashed towards a first Manic, and pulverized his skull with a single punch. The others all ran towards him, allowing Excal to propel herself to the upper level. Regor's chair stood there, but empty. She grasped her Nikana Prime tightly, holding it in front of her as she searched her surroundings with her stare.

The attack came from the side. Had Excal not seen a blur approaching her, Regor's mace would have broke her ribs and sent her flying. Instead, she blocked his attacks, but was forced to jump back. "Found you."  
Regor had no mouth to speak of, but she sensed him smiling behind his suit. "Yes, you found me. And you're not going to be happy about it, worm."

He rained attacks down on her, forcing her back with powerful blows that she had no choice but to block. _"He's trying to pin me against the wall"_, she thought.  
As the blows came again and again, Excal saw an opening. _"There!" _She twisted her body, charging her Nikana with Void Energy as she slashed Regor's mace across the hilt, before thrusting a powerful body at her shield. Pushed back, Regor jumped back, crawling away and discarding his broken weapon, keeping hold of his shield. He threw it like a frisbee at Excal. "Die, lizard. Leech. Bloody worm!"

Excal blocked the shield, grating against her sword. The kick that followed, however, hit her in her side, sending her falling down to the lower level. She fell down hard, protecting her back and head but slamming her right shoulder against the cold, hard steel plates of the facility. She lay there, dizzy and hurting. Regor jumped down after her, grasping his shield.  
"I'm going to split your skull open, worm… Like you did to my tubemen!"  
Regor raised his shield up with both hands, and thrust downwards.

Excal closed her eyes.  
"_Ember… I'm sorry…"_

The punch smashed through the shield. Regor snapped his head to the side, the blow still smashing half of his mask, sending him crashing against the wall. Excal lay there, with her eyes still closed.

"Hey. You all right?"  
Excal opened her eyes, and groaned. "No… I got careless again… And my shoulder might be displaced."

Taking advantage of the conversation, three Manics jumped towards the pair, snarling. Atlas turned in a flash, punching clean through the three of them. He turned back to Excal, and put her on her back. "Let's get out of here."  
He glanced back at the wall, where Regor had been sent flying. He was no longer there.

Atlas ran back to the ships, careful not to shake Excal too much. She felt… like crap, honestly. They docked in their Orbiter, and flew away from the facility.

* * *

"Operator? Are you okay?" Ordis said with quite a lot of worry in his voice.

"Do I look like I'm okay?" Excal tried to smile, but ended up wincing. "Open the nursery. I think I need Helminth to relocate my shoulder."

"That filthy- I mean, of course, Operator!"

Excal sighed. "And no need to complain about it." She tried to hold the pain back as the Infested room opened. "Message Cetus while I get patched up. Regor got away, but we trashed quite a lot of his equipment. Ask Nyx if there are any more troubles in nearby planets."  
Excal sat in the molded chair, and closed her eyes as she let the tamed Infestation do its work. If he had a body, Ordis would have cringed. Instead, he did what Excal had asked.

In his own Orbiter, Atlas took off his blood-stained armor gloves, calmly. He was going to have to do some washing. He felt bored… As he always did.

As one cleaned up his suit and the other her wounds, the two Orbiters headed away from Uranus. But another ship was heading towards them… Calling out.

_"I found them."_


	4. S1C4: Fractures

_**Chapter 4: **__**Fractures**_

_Location: Space, Uranus Sector_

Excal walked out of the Infested room, her shoulder bandaged. She was pale, but doing well enough, considering who she'd just faced alone.  
_"Seriously… I feel as reckless as Ember."_

She headed back to the navigation room, and sat, staring at the emptiness of space flashing before her, with Atlas's Orbiter behind her, both heading away from Uranus. She felt like relaxing, but her ship comms flared up.

"_Excal? Do you copy? It's Atlas. I'm receiving a distress call from an Orbiter a few clicks away. It's from Nova. She sounds totally freaked out. What do we do?"_

Excal gaped for a second, then shook her head, concentrating. "_What happened to her?"_

"Let her catch up to us, Atlas. I don't want her message to be garbled."

The two Orbiters slowed down, linking their communications.

"Nova? Do you copy? What's going on? I thought you were still stationed on Pluto with Nezha?"

"_Excal? Is that you? I… I need your help… I'm sorry… Nezha's d-dead..."_

For a minute, silence.

Excal's eyes widened. She felt... numb. The word echoed in her head. _"Dead.."_

Was this real? What she was hearing? It couldn't be. It _couldn't _be.

They had all gone through so much together… They had awoken from stasis, survived Vor's hunt, Alad's madness, Stalker's vengeance, Hunhow's attack, the Queens' plan for them… Holding each other up. Some of them had suffered more than most along the way, like Frost… or Nekros… But none of them had _died_…

And now the circle was broken. They could never be complete again… One of them had returned to the Void.

"_Excal? Are you still there? Excal!"  
_Atlas' and Nova's voice shook her mind awake from the fog she'd fallen in.

"I'm… I'm still here…" Excal leaned against the ship wall, staying close to the transmitter. "How did this happen? _How?_"

The silence lasted several seconds, Excal was starting to wonder if they'd been cut off.

"_We were on a mission, hijacking a Corpus Mothership. I got to him too late… __I just… I saw… Volt killed him. I think… he would have done the same to me. I was terrified. I ran. I'm sorry."_

Excal's breath hitched. She felt like someone had punched her in the chest.

They were Tenno, all of them. They'd fought countless enemies. They'd killed… so many of them. But they'd never hated each other. They'd never fought each other in earnest…

The last memories she had of Volt came back to her mind. A particularly gory mission on Venus. He had never cared much about saving people… He loved to boast about his strength. He loved to fight as well. He'd sparred with Excal many times. But to kill another Tenno… She had never sensed such insanity in him. In any of them.

They'd been through so much, together… Since the fall of the Orokin. Their suffering, their mother, their new purpose to protect the universe, all this had bonded them together.

And now one of them had broken that bond. Excal couldn't risk this. How would that end? By them tearing each other apart, from the inside? One death was enough.

Excal cleared her throat, and spoke again.

"Atlas, Nova? We're heading back to Cetus, the three of us. Now."

Neither of them responded. But they didn't need to. Excal went back to her Transference chamber, knowing Ordis would set the course. Even the normally chatty AI had fallen dead quiet. Maybe he felt the same thing Excal was currently feeling.

Fear.


	5. S1C5: The Factions Awaken

_**Chapter 5: The Factions Awaken**_

_Location: Themisto Node, Jupiter_

"I am telling you, gentlemen. This corpse is one of the most valuable items we will ever obtain. And we _all_ know that I alone know how to work with… _Tenno_ powers."

In front of the Corpus Board of Directors, Alad V made his claim. The holograms stared at him dispassionately, all except Nef Anyo, who looked like his time was being wasted. But Alad would not repent. A corpse had been found on one of their Motherships. Something no one had ever seen before.

A dead Tenno. And Alad wanted it. The Tenno were the only known beings able to manipulate Void Energy. If they retained that power, even dead… They had to find out. So far, the body was still on Pluto, perfectly preserved. Which is why Alad had to make his case.

A female Director eventually spoke up. "We will grant you this chance. Do not squander it. The Grineer have been building up forces for too long. We must innovate as well."

Alad bowed, feigning humility he did not feel. He did not need to look at Nef Anyo's face to guess his current mood. He gave the Corpus word of goodbye. "May profits rain upon us all."

The holograms faded one after the other. "Resting" behind the Corpus scientist, his most impressive creation hummed slowly. Alad chuckled. "It seems we have a new toy to play with, Zanuka."

* * *

_Location: Edge of the Origin System, Sedna Sector_

In a remote part of space, a spherical Super-Orbiter flew, its cloaking technology hiding it from any inquisitive radars. Home to a group of Tenno. A group that had been waiting, for a long while. Circling the Origin System.

Inside the ship, a communication device was lit up. A tall, lean Tenno stood in front of it, shadows circling around him.

"_It's just a kind warning on my part, Nekros. Once I'm done with these perfect little innocents in Cetus… I'm coming for you. And your little band."_

The transmission cut. But Nekros, and the four people sitting behind him, did not seem all that impressed. "He's really going through with this, huh."

"Let him." said a deep voice, coming from an extremely muscular frame. "He will weed out the weak for us."

"I agree with Rhino." A silky voice followed. A girl scoffed at that, crossing her curvaceous legs together. "Sure. Let Volt dirty his hands for us. Of course you'd like _that, _Oberon."

Oberon hissed, but before he could respond in kind, Nekros raised a hand for silence. Only Frost, as usual, had said nothing. Who knew what _he_ thought. But Nekros had already decided. He chuckled. "We aren't ready to deploy yet. Let Volt have his fun. Either he'll succeed, or they'll take him down. Either way, one less problem for us."

He waved in dismissal. Oberon was first to leave after a quick bow, followed by Rhino and Frost. Only Saryn remained behind, her hands on her hips, not impressed at all.

"If this is true, you know she's going to fight him." Nekros didn't answer, his back to her. She kept going. "Are you really going to let her risk her life this way?"

When he finally answered, Nekros' voice was much darker. "I made my choice long ago. Excal made hers. Now go, Saryn. Before you anger me again."

Saryn simply shrugged, and turned to leave. "Things change." She walked out, leaving Nekros alone, just standing there. A minute later, he turned to make sure he was alone, and put a hand in his pocket. Playing with the locket hidden inside. A locket that held a picture he chose never to look at.

* * *

_Location: Oro Node, Earth_

Deep within the Earth forests, in one of the many Grineer bases defiling the luxuriant planet, Councilor Vay Hek grumbled as he walked around in his Terra Frame, his claws angrily snapping at the air. "IS THE INVASION FORCE READY?" He shouted.

A soldier gave a grunt of approval, in the Grineer tongue. They'd been raided upon for too long… Now it was time to attack. Their radars had detected the Orbiters leaving Cetus. And the Grineer had interpreted this as an opportunity. With their defenses reduced, the city could be raided. The maggots would pay.

Loud blast after loud blast echoed through the forest, as the Grineer carriers took off. Towards the Plains. Each carried new laser technology, specially engineered to disrupt the Cetus shields.

Vay Hek let out a boisterous laugh, which devolved into a hacking cough. "PURGE THEM ALL! MAKE THEM SUFFER!"


End file.
